


Enter The Dungeon

by Sugar_and_Salt



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Angst, Dark, M/M, Psychological, Romance, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-03
Updated: 2016-01-03
Packaged: 2018-05-11 10:34:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5624002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sugar_and_Salt/pseuds/Sugar_and_Salt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chanyeol was pretty lucky to have stumbled across the much more experienced Xiumin. After all, he would have never made it out of the dungeon without his help, being the low-level guy he was.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Enter The Dungeon

When Xiumin awoke, he felt a little dizzy.  
The sight of raw blocks of scratched, weathered stone in various worn out colors was blocked by a mop of messy hair.  
"Xiumin hyung? Are you alright...?"  
"Chanyeol."  
It wasn't a question, why would it be? Nothing in the world would make him not recognize Chanyeol’s face. For a second he blinked the sleepiness away and indulged himself in the familiar sight of tousled caramel colored curls and wide, searching orbs. He knew for a fact that they usually shone in a pretty hazelnut-brown but it was so dim in here that they just appeared muddy at best.  
"Are you in pain?"  
Xiumin let the deep voice wash over him like water over a burn.  
His body did indeed feel a little bruised but aside from a faint buzzing in his head everything seemed to be fine.  
"Hey. Nah, I'm fine."  
"Are you really?"  
Xiumin sat up and rubbed the faint headache away with his dirty thumbs.  
"Yupp. I was careless. Thanks for saving me."  
"Don't thank me..." Chanyeol dismissed him, worry still outweighing everything else as he patted down his arms and fiddled with a bandage he hadn't noticed before.  
"Oh, you even patched me up? Sorry man, I'm totally out of stuff."  
"It's okay."  
Xiumin took in a few deep breaths and tried to recollect the happenings before he had so embarrassingly fainted.  
He had been on a quest, searching this dungeon for a treasure some woman had hired him for. Right, that magical healing stone. He felt his pockets and the surrounding floor until his hands got a hold of it. Smooth surface that faintly glowed blue... Yes, that was it.  
Thank god, the whole thing was beginning to get tedious. On the other hand, he wouldn't have stumbled across Chanyeol if he'd found it any sooner. It was still a little beyond him how someone of his level could get lost in a dungeon like this but he had taken an undeniable liking to the tall and lanky boy and decided to let him accompany him. It’s not that Xiumin had any problem going solo on missions, but with Chanyeol his wish for company had been sparked for the first time in ages.  
He drew in a deep breath and shook his head to clear away the leftover haze.  
"Alright then."  
He looked around the small room in which everything appeared extremely run-down and forgotten, apart from the high-tech door with a glowing keypad next to it.  
Xiumin rose to his feet, not minding the slight shaking in his legs and patted a bit of dirt from his simple armor under the curious gaze of Chanyeol. He vaguely remembered getting attacked by a monster and blacking out. Embarrassing indeed, but since they had been unlucky enough to fall into a trap and getting stripped of their interior he was lucky that they had gotten the enemy down _somehow_. It was a good thing that Chanyeol had the state of mind to hide them in here. But now it was time to leave.  
"Now that we have what we came here for... time to leave, huh?"  
"W-what?" Chanyeol uttered, maybe a bit too caught up in observing the older one.  
Xiumin shot him an amused glance.  
"I don't know about you but I'm not that into the dirty catacomb look. If we were talking about a water temple, maybe. But this doesn't match my standards for cozy."  
Without waiting for a response he went up to the keypad that showed a few funny symbols in different colors. A puzzle, of course.  
Stars, circles, cubes...  
Obviously not a problem for an adventurer as well-versed in mystery as him. In a matter of seconds he got to the solution and the door opened with a satisfying sound of grating metal sliding open.  
"You solved it!" Chanyeol gasped, jumping to his feet.  
"Sure, what did you think? I'm a pro at puzzles like this."  
He hadn't known him for long but it seemed like such a Chanyeol-thing to do; hiding away in a room and locking himself from the inside. Such a klutz.  
  
He looked back to make sure Chanyeol was following him (which he was) before advancing into the hallway. He wasn't lying about his dislike for dungeons like these - all cold and damp stone with barely any light. This would definitely be his last cave like dungeon for the next few months. From now on he'll only take anything element based. Preferably water dungeons. Yeah, that would be nice.  
"D-do you know the way?" Chanyeol asked in a hushed whisper but Xiumin only dismissed him graciously. It was cute how inexperienced he was. He was lucky to have met Xiumin who could go ahead with the confidence that was obtained over the years.  
"Shh, you'll get us caught." he whispered back and the younger one shut up immediately, clutching to the back of his shirt instead.  
There were multiple doors and even though he had roughly memorized the layout from earlier, he had no idea where their weapons and items might be hidden away. So troublesome.  
Xiumin tip-toed along the hallway, putting an ear against every door and deciding against the ones he heard noises from. There was no use in charging ahead without weapons. Chanyeol kept tugging him along and in the end they went for an important-looking door at the end of the floor.  
"You sure about this? What about our things? I bet they're here somewhere!"  
"Who cares hyung, let's just move forward-"  
"Seriously? They were worth a ton!"  
Cute little newbie would probably not miss his level 1 wooden-sword but his armor was pretty damn rare, after all!  
Chanyeol only kept tugging and complaining in a hushed voice.  
"If they're so valuable I'm sure they're stored at the upper levels anyway. We're too vulnerable in this position..."  
Hm. He had a point. Oh well.  
Following him a little reluctantly, Xiumin began to unlock the next puzzle and soon they found themselves in the next hallway, looking exactly the same as before (damn those generic, maze like dungeons) with the exception of this one having a promising flight of stairs at the end.  
  
They had only crossed half of the corridor however, when a strange and distant rumbling noise disturbed the silence.  
Chanyeol tugged at his shirt nervously as he opened a random door covered in ivory. He shoved Xiumin inside and closed it as discreetly as possible, pulling the elder to the floor with him.  
Inside, he clamped a hand over Xiumin's protesting mouth and with a roll of his eyes the smaller kept quiet and watched Chanyeol place an ear against the wall. Chanyeol felt the noise in the form of faint vibrations in the cold wall he was leaning against.  
He soundlessly leaned in close enough to let his lips brush against Xiumin’s ear and for some reason he didn't feel any discomfort at all. Even though Xiumin usually wasn't the type to enjoy skinship, he found the way Chanyeol’s warm, shallow breath tickled the shell of his ear almost comforting; even though the way Chanyeol's arm was reaching around his back and drawing him against his side with his palm still rested over his lips was a rather overwhelming feeling that made him acutely aware of their height difference, Xiumin felt his muscles go lax. Usually he didn't let low-levels boss him around but Chanyeol had his complete trust for some reason.  
"The elevators... They're in there." Chanyeol breathed into his ear, feeling a shudder follow in its wake. He heard the elevators halt and the noises went down the corridor. They both held their breath, hoping that the enemy didn't decide to enter their particular room. Lady luck was on their side for once and the steps faded down the hallway. They didn't dare move from their position and Xiumin let his eyes wander over the insides of the room they were currently hiding in. The vines of ivory had been a tell-tale sign of the room being covered in grass and other sturdy-looking plants crawling up the walls and hanging from the ceiling. Besides a few tiny dots of white flowers everything was green with the occasional flash of stone where the foliage wasn't thick enough. Well, and except for the row of fluffy little rabbits huddled in a corner of the room. Poor things were practically shaking with fear.  
  
Only when the echo of a closed door had faded for long enough did Chanyeol let go of Xiumin and turned around to gasp at the sight of the room.  
"Oh no..." he breathed with his big eyes swimming in compassion.  
"They're trapped in here. We should free them."  
Xiumin only nudged his shoulder with a sigh.  
"We shouldn't. You can't just take in everything, do you even have food for them?"  
Chanyeol kept fiddling with the sleeves of the older one's shirt and shooting him pleading looks.  
"We don't have to take them in, but shouldn't we at least free them? They're suffering..."  
This time Xiumin sighed in pure exasperation. Did this guy honestly take pity on every random thing he saw? Next he knew Chanyeol would probably ask them to take some wilted flower outside so it'd get more sunlight. How he had ever managed to not get himself killed remained an enigma.  
"And then what? Alarm everyone by letting those cute things running loose? I don't think so. You just said we were too vulnerable, now let's go. They might be back any second." Xiumin urgently said, dragging Chanyeol behind him who kept shooting regretful looks at the rabbits hopping around in mild panic at their intrusion.  
  
They made it up the stairs just fine and once again hid in another room before taking the next stairway. Again they had gotten into a room with rabbits, this one even including a family, complete with fluffy little kittens. Xiumin couldn't help pondering whether the monsters in this dungeon actually bred animals to feed on. That would kinda make sense - there wasn't a great deal of other things to eat down here, after all. He reassured the gullible boy that they wouldn't be eaten this young anyway; Chanyeol almost threw another tantrum when he noticed one of them being dead but Xiumin kept pulling him along. Rabbits usually had so many kittens that they rarely all made it anyway.  
Finally they seemed to get closer to the main floor with the layout changing and the number of contorted rooms increasing, completely ruining whatever orientation he may have had before. They could only guess where to go next and Xiumin almost broke the vow to stay silent when he opened a door and stepped into water with a splashing sound. The whole room was oddly flooded with water up to his ankles. He could feel Chanyeol's hand clawing painfully into his back and he absently reached back to pat his shoulder.  
"Come on Yeol.", he whispered soothingly, the nickname rolling off his tongue naturally, "You scared of water? You're not gonna drown or anything."  
The trembles subsided a bit beneath his hand, though a look over his shoulder told him that the brunette had turned white as a sheet.  
"Come on, let's go. I'll go first, just follow my lead."  
To encourage him even further he leaned in for a quick peck to his cheek and it seemed to work well enough with Chanyeol carefully treading after him, trying to make as little noise as possible.  
They made it across the empty room without catching any unwanted attention and even though Xiumin intended to look for supplies they could use, Chanyeol couldn't stand the sight of spread shreds of fur and other remains and kept insisting that there was nothing they needed. Shrugging it off Xiumin complied, figuring that they had almost made it out anyway. Still, he'd definitely have to teach Chanyeol a lesson after this. With this attitude he wouldn't make it far as an adventurer.  
After another flight of stairs they had finally reached something akin to an old basement with a ratty carpet covering the cold floor. There were even a few tiny windows in the ceiling, telling them that it was nighttime. That explained the lack of monsters. They were probably asleep somewhere in their burrow or wherever they came from around here. With every step their soaked feet and pant-legs were making soggy slapping noises so they became even more careful, venturing down the hallway when quiet noises erupted from the distance.  
Chanyeol flinched, his grip on Xiumin's arm tightening painfully but the shorter one only put a finger to his lips.  
"You hear that?” he whispered into the ear of his frightened companion, "It's eating. If we're quiet, we won't be noticed."  
And indeed they rounded a corner to find a bigger room with various pieces of dusty and broken furniture, all clearly unused and of a faded gray... with a disgusting monster huddled on the floor over an exceptionally big rabbit. The thing was all claws and slime, form undefined as it pressed the fluffy thing down with a metallic-looking claw and forced it to shriek with the panic of a trapped animal. It seemed to enjoy playing with its food so Xiumin hoped they'd have enough time to escape, tiptoeing behind the furniture where they'd be out of sight. Unfortunately he forgot to cover Chanyeol's eyes and the moment the monster tore at its victim, making it shriek particularly high-pitched, Chanyeol whimpered and his breath hitched audibly.  
Xiumin froze in his tracks but it was too late. The thing perked up at the sound, immediately halting its meal and carelessly flinging the rabbit into a corner where it lay weakly, the tiny fluffy body thumping along to the racing heart. The monster turned towards them instead.  
A string of curses flew through Xiumin’s head as his eyes darted around for anything to use as a weapon, but there were only some forgotten bookshelves and armchairs, nothing of use. If only they had gotten back their interior-  
the thought was cut off when he saw Chanyeol throwing himself in between the approaching creature and Xiumin, trying to fight it with bare hands, which was utterly stupid of him.  
"Chanyeol, stay back! What are you doing?!"  
But it was too late and the monster had Chanyeol pressed down, cutting off his air supply. Xiumin's thoughts were racing. There had to be something, anything- wait. He had one item. The healing stone.  
Lunging forward he quickly made use of it; it was all or nothing. He would rather give up this stone than Chanyeol. Unfortunately, the stone wasn't able to heal Chanyeol who kept yapping for air. But in turn the monster seemed very weak against its powers and Xiumin cheered on the inside. It was no surprise - after all, healing objects mostly had the element of light and this thing was obviously a darkness type. The glowing stone managed to not only fend the thing off but to blind it completely and soon it seized moving altogether.  
  
"Wow. I didn't think they'd go down that easily. Good thing I had this." Xiumin wondered aloud, eyeing the stone in wonder. The glow had seized a bit and he wondered whether it'd suffice to beat more of these.  
Chanyeol only coughed a bit more and tried to stand up only to have his shaky knees buckle under him, landing with a painful yelp.  
"Xiu-min H-hyung..." he whispered brokenly and Xiumin immediately stashed the stone away to crouch down next to the injured boy. He gently rubbed his back.  
"I-I... I'm scared-" he choked out, his eyes wide and shining with unshed tears.  
"Shh, don't cry. You're good, nothing happened. See? Everything's fine." he hushed the trembling boy who was clinging onto him for dear life.  
"S-scared-"  
Big, warm hands suddenly cupped his face and he was met with those expressive eyes, filled with all sorts of emotions.  
"A-are you alright? X-xiumin... Hyung?"  
"Huh?" he said back, blinking in surprise. "Sure. Not a scratch."  
Chanyeol’s worries were flattering but one measly little monster shouldn't throw him off-course like that. Had this boy ever fought against anything at all? Xiumin was slowly beginning to think that Chanyeol wasn't even an adventurer but a common kid living in a village nearby. Maybe he had really simply gotten lost in here.  
Xiumin really was more of a lone wolf than anything, preferring to do things at his own pace. Still, he found himself not resisting even a tiny bit as the other's face inched closer, large hands still cupping his face to keep him in place. Xiumin’s eyes fluttered shut on instinct to welcome the chapped but slightly moist lips on his. The sensation rushed through him like a warm shower, pleasant and relaxing. Sighing soundlessly, he practically melted against the soft lips insistently but carefully brushing against his own more eager ones. The way the calmness took over all his senses was amazing. Maybe Chanyeol just really wasn't a fighting type, but a healing one instead.  
Neither seemed willing to let go - if any, their movements became more firm, more in tune with each other. But a sudden distant noise ripped them out of the moment and Chanyeol all but jerked back, looking around in fear.  
"W-we should leave. Get out of here. Now." he mumbled and Xiumin tried to shake off the daze as he helped him up to his feet and supported his light frame. They crossed the room and when noises erupted behind them, they broke into a sprint, not letting go of each other's hands.  
Not while flying down the corridor, not when they had climbed the last stairs and fresh night air hit their faces. No, Chanyeol kept his tight grip on his hand and they kept running. Running and running because the monsters kept following them. They rounded a corner and Chanyeol charged towards a black and white car, dragging Xiumin along with him and inside the vehicle. Xiumin wanted to complain but the grip on his fingers was unrelenting.

  
Chanyeol wasn't holding onto his hand anymore when they found themselves in an almost painfully bright room, across two uniformed women who sat at a desk.  
Instead they were both huddled on a bench where Chanyeol had slowly maneuvered him into his lap. Xiumin didn't complain; the close proximity and firm arms encircling his front felt nice. He wasn't too happy when the taller one tried to cover his ears but ceased resisting upon receiving a lingering kiss to the back of his neck, letting Chanyeol indulge in the silly idea that he wouldn't hear what they were talking this way.  
"There are more... Where we come from. There are more of us. Boys and girls. S-some are... Dead." he uttered slowly and the deep voice pleasantly rumbled through him. He could see an immediate reaction in their faces, squinching up in something akin to disgust. The leader of the two quickly tried to compose herself though.  
  
"We have sent people there. They are going to help." she replied in an attempt to sound secure.  
Of course it had no effect on Xiumin. Only Chanyeol could give him that feeling.  
"I've seen a fami- there was a girl with kids and they were-"  
He cut himself off, the voice dying in a row of serious trembles.  
"It's okay. Don't think about it for now." the woman calmly intervened and for a few seconds, no one said a word while Chanyeol hid his face in Xiumin's hair which he graciously allowed.  
After all, he had experienced the boys sadness for the dead rabbits first-hand.  
Chanyeol and his neverending compassion.  
  
The woman only spoke up much later, when she deemed his breathing steady enough to continue.  
"Can you tell me how long you have been captured?"  
He could feel Chanyeol shaking his head and the unruly hair kept tickling his neck.  
"I don't know. I- It was always dark. Xiumin said it was, uhm, it was about five years but he has been there before me. A lot longer I think. I don't know."  
"What happened to you?" a women carefully asked, her co-worker already scribbling down all sorts of things. The voices were dull and Xiumin leaned back into the embrace, closing his eyes to concentrate on them.  
"I... E-everything. I... They-"  
Chanyeol cut himself off, obviously distraught and Xiumin soothingly pet one of the hands lying on his ear, trying to give him comfort. It seemed to work a bit, as he continued talking in that slow, deliberate manner.  
"They... played with us. T-they... hurt us." he whispered and the woman only nodded, accepting this vague answer.  
"Did you hurt someone as well?" she slowly asked, her gaze raking over Xiumin's frame.  
For a second he thought Chanyeol was going to ignore the question. Then the grip on his ears tightened even more, causing the words to come out extremely muffled.  
"Xiumin. With that stone. It-it wasn't his fault. We got attacked and. And he saved me."  
"What exactly happened? Take your time."  
But it seemed like Chanyeol didn't want to take his time, his voice filled with urgency as he tried to get his point across.  
"There was a man and he was doing... he was doing bad things to that girl and then he attacked us- me. He was trying to kill me and I couldn't do anything and Xiumin, he had that stone- I don't know where he got it from, but he used it to hit the man. First the face so he wouldn't see us anymore and then he kept hitting him until he couldn't hurt us anymore- I swear he only wanted to save me! He saved me."  
The woman kept staring at him in such a scrutinizing way and Chanyeol's words didn't appear to have any positive effect on her, making him increasingly anxious. Xiumin wiggled a little in the firm grasp and attempted to nuzzle his nose against the taller ones wrists while rubbing the thighs he was sitting on while Chanyeol rambled on.  
"I met Xiumin down there. He's a good person. Was always there for me. He- he had been there for so long and because he's so handsome they liked him a lot and... they played with him a lot... and then one day it was really bad and they were really rough and he was so hurt, there was so much blood- when he woke up he was all different and then we escaped-"  
  
"I think he might be dangerous.", the woman fell in with a soft but cautious glance between the content-looking boy on his lap and back up, "Did you see all the blood on his clothing? Your socks and legs are soaked, too. We should bring him somewhere he can-"  
" _ **No**_!" Chanyeol exclaimed firmly with desperation lacing his voice. He finally took the hands off his ears in favor of tightly embracing him from behind, his chin placed on Xiumin's shoulder. It was a pleasant feeling, to be wrapped up like this. To be protected. Suddenly the exhaustion of their whole adventure was catching up to him and he felt all sleepy.  
  
"He's not dangerous. I'll take care of him. Don't separate us. Please. I'll watch after him. _I need him_." he kept mumbling over and over, causing a faint smile to grace Xiumin’s lips.  
What a Chanyeol-thing to say.  
_Couldn't let a single fluffy rabbit get away._

**Author's Note:**

> ...And there goes one of my more dark stories - it wasn't too graphic though since the main focus lay on the psychological part.  
>  If you're still confused I advise you to pay attention to the last line, where Xiumin compares himself to a rabbit. Meaning that all the rabbits have been people to begin with. If you re-consider the story with this fact in mind, it might make more sense to you.  
> ...Of course you can also ask me anything about whatever bugs you - I'll be glad to explain.
> 
> Love,  
> Sugar_and_Salt ♥
> 
> P.S.: This was inspired by SKY-HI's "Enter the dungeon" - do give it a listen, if you feel like it c:


End file.
